Kotaku

Monthly Archives: May 2014

An increased heart rate may lead to the development of additional symptoms, including headache or dizziness. Breathing Difficulties The reaction induced by a severe panic attack can lead to an increase in your normal breathing rate. This occurs because your body believes you are in need of extra oxygen and energy to escape physical danger. As a result, you can begin to breathe faster than necessary, leading to a condition called hyperventilation. A severe panic attack also can cause breathing difficulties, such as shortness of breath. You Might Also Like Can Lack of Sleep & Headache or Dizziness When you have a severe panic attack, your body believes you are in imminent physical danger. Source: What Are the Symptoms of a Severe Panic Attack? | LIVESTRONG.COM

Grohol, Psy.D. According to recent research, theres a definite connection between panic attacks and heart attacks. What that connection is, however, remains open to additional research. Smoller and his colleagues (2007) decided to see whether panic attacks are associated with a greater risk of either a heart attack or stroke in older women. They examined data from 10 clinical centers of the large 40-center Womens Health Initiative. The study looked at a total of 3369 generally-healthy postmenopausal women (aged 51-83 years) enrolled between 1997 and 2000 in the Myocardial Ischemia and Migraine Study who completed a questionnaire about occurrence of panic attacks in the previous 6 months. Then they looked at all cardiovascular events, including those that resulted in a persons death. The researchers defined full-blown panic attacks as sudden fear, anxiety , or extreme discomfort accompanied by four or more DSM-defined panic attack symptoms. Source: Can a Panic Attack Cause a Heart Attack? | World of Psychology

He could only stay at school the entire day if he was allowed to call home as often as he needed. His mother, Heather Cummings, experienced similar anxiety when she was young. “In science I’d read about a condition and think I had it, cancer or diabetes, for example,” she told NPR. “If I bumped my head I’d think I’d get a concussion. If I got hit in the temple I’d watch the clock because I thought I was going to die.” The strong correlation between parent anxiety and child anxiety suggests causation, therefore, parental support is instrumental in helping children overcome their anxiety, says Noah’s psychotherapist, Lynn Lyons. “It’s important that you have the same expectations of your anxious child that you would of another child,” psychologist Lynne Siqueland told the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Parents who also suffer from an anxiety disorder may struggle to know how to help their child. Source: Anxious parents often have anxious children, study shows | Deseret News

Merryll Vorster testified for the defense and said that Pistorius has general anxiety disorder, a psychiatric condition that could make the athlete more likely to fight a threatening situation than flee it. Get the Latest News on the Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial But experts say Pistorius will have to undergo extensive testing to be diagnosed with the condition. Youre looking for things that would supercharge that nervous system and leave it more vulnerable, said George Everly, associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. You can have chronic exposure or traumatic event — either one works. Everly said some people with the disorder have a genetic history or have experienced traumatic events that make them hyper-sensitive to perceived threats. In severe cases, people can feel so afraid that they want to protect themselves in seemingly overzealous ways, he said, from installing extra security alarms to amassing weapons. Think of a lightning bolt going through electric currents [of the brain], he said. More: Pistorius Trial Temporarily Halted Over Anxiety Diagnosis for Blade Runner – ABC News

Psychiatrist Dr. Merryll Vorster said events during Pistorius’ life, including the amputation of his lower legs as a baby and his late mother’s habit of sleeping with a gun under her pillow, contributed to his “increasing stress.” “Overall, Mr. Pistorius appears to be a mistrustful and guarded person,” Vorster testified. She said the Olympic athlete displayed “escalating levels of anxiety” through his life when she interviewed him this month. Vorster said she also spoke to members of Pistorius’ family, some of his friends and his agent. Pistorius’ defense said at the outset of its case that it would show his feelings of “vulnerability” and his disability contributed to him shooting Steenkamp. Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Source: Oscar Pistorius has anxiety disorder, defense psychiatrist says during murder trial – CBS News

Both are right. Labours response to Ukip over the past few weeks has been politically and morally bankrupt. As I wrote earlier this week , Labours strategy for Ukip was initially to ignore them, then to try and paint Farage as the new Margaret Thatcher, and finally to try and paint Miliband as the new Frank Field. And its proved disastrous, as it was always going to prove disastrous. But the local and Euro election campaign is now over. And Labour is about to make its traditional mistake of drawing the wrong conclusions, from the wrong results, at the wrong time. Source: The great Ukip Panic is under way, and Labour is running from the imaginary threat – Telegraph Blogs

You’ve got to be kidding. Job interview? I feel like I’m either going to leg it, or throw up all over the interview panel. All this shows, and it does not make a good impression. My anxiety disorder is a “gift” from the person who raped me and tried to take my life, combined with a (separate) abusive relationship. It is thought that genetics can play a role if you have a close relative with generalised anxiety disorder , it is five times more likely that you, too, will experience anxiety at some point. For the original version, visit http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/18/living-with-anxiety-coping-mechanisms

A cause of panic disorder has not been conclusively proven, though genetics may affect your risk. Women and those in their 20s or 30s may be at higher risk, but panic disorder can happen to anyone at any age and can come out of nowhere or following a traumatic or stressful life event. How is panic disorder diagnosed? If you’re worried that you might have panic disorder, talk to your doctor about the symptoms you’ve experienced. Since feelings of panic and anxiety can accompany other conditions and illnesses, your doctor will likely perform a thorough examination to rule out other possible causes. You are more likely to be diagnosed with panic disorder if you: have recurrent, sudden panic attacks worry about having more attacks and what will happen if you do change your behaviour and habits because of panic attacks How can panic disorder be treated? Your treatment goal for panic disorder should be to function better on a daily basis and reduce the occurrence of your symptoms. A treatment plan for panic disorder may include cognitive-behavioural therapy, medications, or a combination of therapy and medications. Read More: Panic disorder – Mental Health – C-Health

Pistorius’ defense said at the outset of its case that it would show his feelings of “vulnerability” and his disability contributed to him shooting Steenkamp. Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted. Vorster’s testimony also dealt with what she said was Pistorius’ fear of crime and how, because he was a double amputee, he reacted to perceived threats in a different way to other people. She noted Pistorius’ mother, who died when he was a teenager, slept with a gun in her bed and also had a fear of being attacked in her home. Cross-examining Vorster at the start of the eighth week of the trial, prosecutor Nel asked if she was saying Pistorius had a mental illness and should undergo a 30-day period of observation, and if he was changing his defense to one of “diminished responsibility.” Nel also asked the psychiatrist if someone who was suffering from an anxiety order of the kind that she had diagnosed in Pistorius, and also had access to guns, would be a danger to society. Vorster said the person would, indeed, be a danger. Read More: Oscar Pistorius has anxiety disorder, defense psychiatrist says during murder trial – CBS News

Read on to discover how anxiety changes your body, whether it’s your immediate reaction to stress or a long-term battle. Infographic by Alissa Scheller for The Huffington Post. When the body first suffers from anxiety, you may experience… Throat troubles. That croaky, squeaky voice that seems to have possessed your vocal chords is your immediate reaction to a stressful situation. When anxious feelings creep in, fluids are diverted to more essential locations in the body , causing spasms in the throat muscles. This results in tightness, making it dry and difficult to swallow. More: How Anxiety Influences Your Health (INFOGRAPHIC)

How Anxiety Influences Your Health (INFOGRAPHIC)

A sudden fear grips you, and you begin to feel strange physical symptoms and sensations of doom and worry. Is this a panic attack? Sudden, overwhelming fear: That’s panic in a nutshell. You may have felt that kind of sudden, overwhelming fear in terrifying situations – like when you’re forced to slam on the brakes to narrowly miss a car speeding through a red light or when a large dog lunges at you with teeth bared. But a panic attack can happen at moments that have nothing to do with terror – like in the midst of a deep sleep or a dull meeting or while in a class or stuck in traffic or in line at the grocery store. And you don’t have to have a diagnosed panic disorder to experience a panic attack. Panic attacks come on suddenly and unpredictably, and often peak after about 10 to 20 minutes mark. An attack may include several or many of the following symptoms: a sudden feeling of impending doom or death a feeling like you need to escape from where you are a fear of losing control or “going crazy” a feeling of unreality or like you’re detached from yourself rapid heart rate, chest pain, or discomfort sweating, chills, or hot flashes shortness of breath tightness in your throat or trouble swallowing numbness or tingling sensations More: Panic attack symptoms: Am I having a panic attack? – Mental Health – C-Health

While not nearly as intense as a panic attack , it lasts much longer and almost doesnt let up. GAD sufferers describe it as a feeling of being wired all of the time. Symptoms of GAD While people who suffer from GAD worry about the same things that other people do relationships, money, heath, work, etc. but they have a much higher level of worry that is nearly constant. The level of concern is not in synch with reality and is greatly magnified. Most people with GAD realize that their concerns are overblown, but they cannot seem to shake their anxiety. Source: Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment | LiveScience

A sudden fear grips you, and you begin to feel strange physical symptoms and sensations of doom and worry. Is this a panic attack? Sudden, overwhelming fear: That’s panic in a nutshell. You may have felt that kind of sudden, overwhelming fear in terrifying situations – like when you’re forced to slam on the brakes to narrowly miss a car speeding through a red light or when a large dog lunges at you with teeth bared. But a panic attack can happen at moments that have nothing to do with terror – like in the midst of a deep sleep or a dull meeting or while in a class or stuck in traffic or in line at the grocery store. And you don’t have to have a diagnosed panic disorder to experience a panic attack. Panic attacks come on suddenly and unpredictably, and often peak after about 10 to 20 minutes mark. An attack may include several or many of the following symptoms: a sudden feeling of impending doom or death a feeling like you need to escape from where you are a fear of losing control or “going crazy” a feeling of unreality or like you’re detached from yourself rapid heart rate, chest pain, or discomfort sweating, chills, or hot flashes shortness of breath tightness in your throat or trouble swallowing numbness or tingling sensations For the original version, visit http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=6050&channel_id=11&relation_id=101499

Chartered accountant Richard Murphy said: eBay say I must reset my password. When I try to they say that’s not possible because too many people are trying to reset their passwords. Twitter user TweetieKaz wrote: Went to eBay to change my password but couldn’t due to traffic… I hope I can get that done soon. As the Mirror reported on Wednesday, the online market place was attacked by cyber crooks in late February and early March, but eBay said it only became aware of the breach earlier in May. It said mountains of data had to be sifted before it could let its 223 million registered users know. User names, encrypted passwords, email addresses, dates of birth, addresses and phone numbers were all illegally accessed but the company moved to reassure customers no financial information was compromised. eBay also told customers to change log-in details on other websites where they use the same password. British security expert Graham Cluley described eBays handling of the problem as slipshod. Obviously theyve got a lot of people to tell. More: eBay cyber attack panic plunges site into near meltdown as users rush to change passwords – Mirror Online

At the end of treatment, a persons anxiety symptoms are greatly reduced or even disappear in some cases. In addition to CBT, other psychological treatments have also been found effective in the treatment of social anxiety. These include cognitive therapy (a form of CBT), social skills training alone, relaxation exercises, exposure therapy alone, behavioral therapy, and some other types of less-practiced forms of psychotherapy. Exposure therapy is often a primary component of psychotherapy treatment of social anxiety disorder. Exposure therapy involves a person learning to understand the irrational basis for their fears (cognitive restructuring), teaching simple relaxation skills to practice while in the moment, and gradually being exposed to the situation which causes the anxiety. The exposure is done first in the safety of the psychotherapy office, imagining the scenario and walking through it with the therapist. As the patients confidence grows, he or she will begin to apply the skills theyve learned in the therapy session to outside world events and environments. Psychotherapy treatments have been shown to be highly effective in treating social anxiety disorder (Acarturk et al., 2009; Powers et al., 2008). Source: Social Anxiety Disorder Treatment | Psych Central

Related More in Atrial Fibrillation NEED TO KNOW Pounding in your chest, shortness of breath, and lightheadedness can be symptoms of atrial fibrillation , or a panic attack. Seek medical help if you think you have afib or panic symptoms . It’s important for a doctor to differentiate between the two conditions. If your heart starts racing, your mind might, too: Is this a panic attack? Is this a heart problem? Sometimes it’s hard to tell even for doctors. Read More: Heart Palpitations: Is It Afib or a Panic Attack? – Everyday Health

In particular, theyll keep away from places such as theaters or airplanes, where it would be hard to get away quickly. Panic attacks are common, but the symptoms dont last. That is, they have a beginning and an end. But what you describe being scared of everything doesnt sound like a panic attack. Your anxiety and fear sound more constant. Thus, you may have generalized anxiety disorder. With this disorder, a person has nearly constant feelings of worry or anxiety. These feelings are either unusually intense or out of proportion to the reality. For the original version, visit http://www.buffalonews.com/life-arts/health/generalized-anxiety-disorder-may-require-specialized-treatment-20140517